PROVIDENCE – Southcoast Health announced an expansion of its clinical affiliations with Boston Children’s Hospital to include the Level II nurseries at Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River and St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford effective May 1. According to Peter Cohenno, a Southcoast Health spokesperson, physicians from Boston Children’s have staffed St. Luke’s emergency department and pediatric program since 2012; effective January 2015, Boston Children’s physicians also began caring for mothers and newborn infants in Tobey Hospital’s Level I nursery, in Wareham, Mass.
While each of these three hospitals has a Level I nursery – intended to provide postnatal care for healthy, newborn infants – only St Luke’s and Charlton have Level II nurseries, which offer more sophisticated services to treat some preemies and those infants with some serious illnesses. In contrast, Care New England’s Women & Infants has Level I, II and III nurseries; Level III nurseries treat extremely premature and/or gravely ill babies.
“With Southcoast Health’s goal of improving standardization of care and clinical practices across nursery and pediatric services, it was a natural extension of our existing relationship with Boston Children’s to bring their physicians into our Level II nurseries,” said Cohenno. In acknowledging its “incredible reputation for the level of care they provide to mothers and newborns,” Cohenno said Southcoast Health often sends – and will continue to send – newborns and/or mothers who require a highly complex level of care to Women & Infants.
Cohenno confirmed that both hospital networks concurred that Southcoast Health’s expanded clinical affiliation with Boston Children’s will have “no impact” on the planned affiliation between Southcoast Health and CNE, whose respective boards of directors recently approved plans to proceed. Assuming receipt of the required regulatory approvals from Massachusetts and Rhode Island officials and agencies, the two not-for profit entities will create a new, as yet unnamed, parent entity. The new combined system, according to an early May CNE statement, will comprise a $2 billion-plus entity with eight hospitals. With more than 15,000 employees, it would encompass a broad area of southeastern New England and offer an integrated network of comprehensive services. Cohenno called the approval process timeline “optimistic for six to nine months” with a Jan. 1, 2017 goal.
“Southcoast has developed a valued relationship with Boston Children’s Hospital. They also continue to send high-risk mothers and high-risk newborns to Women & Infants for care. We were aware of the expansion of the Children’s Hospital relationship, and we believe that it will have no impact on the Southcoast-Care New England affiliation process,” wrote CNE in a May 12 email to Providence Business News.
“We are fortunate to have a strong relationship with Boston Children’s Hospital in collaborating with us to provide exceptional care to our region’s children,” Cohenno said. “While we frequently review all services and relationships to ensure the highest quality of care and value to patients, we do not presently anticipate any impact as a result of our collaborative affiliation with Care New England.”
